Too Bad You Can't Remember
by Thalia Castellan
Summary: When he left, he broke Annabeth's heart. There was another girl to, but she never got a chance to grieve.


Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable from the _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ series.

Soundtrack: _Forgotten _by Avril Lavigne.

Grammar and/or spelling: As always, I did my best. I'm sure there are many mistakes, and if you have any helpful CC, I'd love to hear it.

Story: I've had the title floating around in my head for awhile, but the story just wouldn't come. Then, this afternoon, it just appeared. And now, here it is.

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Too Bad You Can't Remember.

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Do you remember when when we first met? I remember.

Do you remember getting so mad you hit me? I do. I was surprised, but impressed to. I was out of line and you rose above the age old 'don't hit girls' and put me back in my place. I think thats when I first started respecting you.

Remember when I gave you a black eye? Or when we creamed that sick man in the ally in Chicago? Or how 'bout the time we slept in the airport and were almost reported to DSS? I do. I remember it like it was yesterday.

I know that sometimes the line between good and bad can be blurry, almost not even visible. But really, you knew you were crossing a line. And a big one at that.

Sometimes, I want to slap you so hard your head snaps and is sore for a week. Sometimes, I just want to give in and run to you; just like I use to when we were younger. You and I both know however, that I will do neither. It's not my fight anymore, Angel, you'll have to sort things out with the idiot Annabeth's fallen for.

I do respect you though; you've done what generations of demigods have done: rebelled. And you've been quite successful. More then successful. They tell me you've even become Kronos' vessel. That out of all the traitorous demigods, you're his favorite.

You always _were _a bit of a suck-up, weren't you?

It's hard to believe though, that everything's so different. Just between our 'family' even. Annabeth's crush on you started turning into something more the moment I was out of the picture, and look at her now, she's fallen long and hard for the oblivious son of Poseidon. And you, you've fallen for her to. Do you think you could tell me just when you stopped trying to raise Kronos to avenge my 'death' and when you started doing it to try and impress _her_?

And what about me? Where do I fit into all of this? Chaste Huntress, follower of Artemis, pledged to spend all eternity in maidenhood following one of my least-favorite goddesses. If it wasn't for you, I'd have quit already.

Remember what I said on Mt. Tam, about not knowing you anymore? I was telling the truth. Looking back on those two years we spent together... well, I dunno, I guess I just missed a lot while I was in that tree.

It's hard for Annabeth to except that you aren't coming back because she loves you. It's hard for me because I owe you so much. I even owe you me virginity, I guess. Think about it, how many times did you save me from men with less-then-pleasant intentions? Or even just the fact that you were fourteen and bigger then I and yet you protected me and never caved to any wants you may have had. Not even when we shared the bed in that rundown hotel or slept close together for warmth. Not once.

Not once did you _ever _betray my trust. Not until you thought I was dead and gone.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to wake up and find you've been dead to the world for five years, you're best friend's trying to raise one of the deadliest forces on earth, and it's _your _fault?

Of course not. _You _weren't the one who woke up with breasts, four and a half extra inches, long hair, PMS, and a bunch of other issues. Not to mention that you'd just left. Walked away. Who was I suppose to talk to? Percy?

And then all that prophecy mumbo-jumbo. I wake up from what I thought was a nap, and suddenly, I'm expected to kill you and end a rebellion. All more or less single-handedly and in roughly one year.

Talk about destiny rushing at you from left-field.

So, not for the first time in my life, I was a coward. I joined the Hunters and made Percy shoulder all the responsibility again. My fatal flaw is determination. You know that. You know that I can almost never give-up, that I'll fight tooth-and-nail until I get what I want.

And yet, because of you, I gave-up and joined the Hunters. That scares me.

And now, here I am, wondering just what to think of you. Time's caught up to me, Luke. Funny, I became immortal and time caught up with me. You'd think, that being immortal means time is nothing to me. You're wrong. I cannot stress the importance of time, and therefore won't try. I do know however, that I _will _die. And before I do, I want all my thoughts in order so I can die tidily.

I'm not afraid of death anymore. I died once, or tried to anyway. I'll die again; for real. And when I die, I'm going to find you and slap you. And after that, maybe, just maybe, I'll give you a hug. I don't know about the hug though, I never was much of a hugger.

Either way, I want you to know, even if you can't remember all the stuff we did, how happy we were, and how much we cared for each other, that I do. I could never hate you, Luke, but it really is to bad you can't remember; those were the best two years of my life. And somehow, I think they were yours too.

* * *

Thalia Grace slid a five dollar bill onto her table and stood, turning her collar up. The rest of the Hunters would be waiting. They had orders from Artemis to meet her in Colorado to hunt the Sphinx.

Leaving the warm restaurant behind, Thalia headed straight into the wind and rain. Not lowering her head, her face met the full onslaught of the raging storm. The hair she desperately wanted to cut whipped around her face and stung her eyes.

She kept walking.

She was the only one on the street, everyone else had taken cover, preferring not to be blown away. She liked it that way. Liked being the only one. It made her feel special, something she hadn't felt in quite awhile.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small statuette rolling in the gutter, it's white stone surface coated in mud.

In one quick, fluid motion, she had bent down and picked the trinket up. Using her jacket's sleeve to wipe the mud off, the face of an angel quickly became visible under her fingertips.

Thalia smiled and studied the winged figure for a long moment. It reminded her of a blond boy she once knew. His face too, had been chiseled out of the finest rock and had life breathed into it by an all-powerful being.

He was her Angel, her lifeline, the embodiment of all her hopes and dreams and wishes. She had been his Devil; his temptation, his fate, his corruption. The difference? The Devil was stronger.

He had succumbed. He'd let Kronos bribe him, blind him. He had fallen to the Devil. To her. To Fate.

She was still fighting.


End file.
